Lifestyle homes | Less urban, more jungle

Research has shown that those who live in towns outside the capitals often have a better standard of living. They can walk to most places and so are less reliant on cars. People feel they have more time, partly because there is less commuting and their kids can have more freedom.

“Regional cities and communities are great places to live in a whole lot of ways," says demographer Roberta Ryan, a director of planning consultancy Urbis.

“People feel safer and all the research shows they are great places to bring up children."

A “push factor" is soaring house prices, which are forcing young buyers to look outside capital cities.

Newcastle, where the median house price is almost half that of Sydney’s at $380,000, was last month named one of the world’s top 10 “must see" cities by travel guide Lonely Planet.

Lonely Planet talks of heritage architecture, a great surf beach, proximity to the Hunter Valley wine region and a diverse nightlife and arts scene. It also noted the laid-back vibe that means you can “grocery shop barefoot and no one blinks an eye".

On the opposite coast but also near a gourmet wine region is Busselton Shire in south-western Western Australia, which is home to a group of small towns in the Margaret River area. Its population growth of more than 4 per cent in the past 20 years has been one of the highest in regional Australia, says the shire council.

However, the number of people moving there is relatively small despite its popularity with tourists. Its population of just more than 30,000 doubles on some days during peak season but a quarter of private dwellings are unoccupied.

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And herein lies the problem. Despite their beauty, population growth in the most populated regional centres is slowing.

A report by property researcher RP Data found the 10 most populated regional council areas had weak housing markets and slowing population growth.

The Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cairns were the fastest growing of all the council areas studied, which included Wollongong, Lake Macquarie, Toowoomba and Mackay.

But even these areas had seen an “extremely pronounced" slowdown in recent years. The exceptions were Wollongong and Newcastle, where population increased owing, in RP Data’s view, to proximity to Sydney and relative housing affordability.

The effect of the high dollar on tourism hasn’t helped centres such as the Gold Coast, which rely on foreign visitors.

In terms of attracting older residents, health facilities are another factor.

“People have to move off the land to bigger regional centres or cities when they age because of the access to services," Ryan says.

But towns such as Orange in NSW have attracted good services and health facilities and are showing steady growth, she says.

For those thinking of moving, regional housing markets are weak and prices have fallen but there are signs values may be bottoming out.

Figures from RP Data-Rismark show the value of the 40 per cent of homes outside capital cities increased by 0.1 per cent in September, But annual values have declined 2.4 per cent.